Some thought the re-watering of the canal in locations west of Rochester, which is where the clear-cutting had been done, was related.

Not so, canal officials say.

Every autumn the canal is closed to navigation and drained. The de-watering allows canal workers access to gates,locks, culverts and other structures.

The Canal Corp. plans to remove trees and other vegetation at 56 locations spanning 145 acres along the Erie Canal between Medina, Orleans County, and Pittsford. The vegetation will be replaced with grass. Canal Corp. engineers describe the $2 million project as preventative work that will maintain the structural integrity of the embankments in certain areas. This portion of trees from Ayrault Road along Garden Drive in in Perinton is slated to be removed. The tree line along the left side of the canal is slated to be removed.(Photo: Max Schulte and Tina MacIntyre-Yee/staff photographers)

This fall, after finishing inspections and maintenance to culverts that carry creeks and roads under the canal, water was allowed back into the canal in Monroe, Orleans and Niagara counties.

This was done "to verify the integrity of the culverts after the cleaning," said Steven Gosset, a spokesman for the New York Power Authority, which now administers the state canal system.

"Inspections of the re-watered culverts are scheduled for this week and the Erie Canal will again be de-watered for the winter next week," he said.

The western section of the canal suffered noteworthy culvert leaks in 2016 and 2012.